Conflict

Before one stall stood a crowd of Demon Cultivators in all shapes and sizes.

Chen Lin's expression shifted, and he walked over as well.

It was a fairly large stall, run by a short man who stood less than five feet tall. All kinds of cultivation materials, talismans, and Dharma Artifacts covered the stall. But Chen Lin paid them no attention, instead looking behind the stall owner.

There was a cage made from some unknown material, sealed with talismans. Inside, a delicate, pretty human girl was curled up. Her clothes were in tatters, and the exposed skin was swollen, split, and bleeding. She had clearly been injured. Judging by her appearance, she was only fifteen or sixteen. Now, her face was filled with terror and grief as she looked at the Demon Cultivators around her, each with greed in their eyes. Despair filled her gaze.

"Heh heh, this girl reached the Xiantian Realm at such a young age. Her aptitude is truly exceptional. It took me a great deal of effort to capture her!"

The short man's face was sinister as he looked at the gathered Demon Cultivators. Pointing at the female cultivator inside the cage, he leered. "And she's still a virgin. Her blood essence would be a tremendous tonic!"

"How many Spirit Stones for this human female cultivator?"

A hulking, ugly Demon Cultivator in the crowd greedily sized up the girl in the cage and finally asked.

"Heh heh, the price is fixed: 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!" The short man chuckled and held up one finger toward him.

"What? 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones?!"

The ugly Demon Cultivator's greedy expression changed at once, turning gloomy. He snorted. "Why don't you just rob us?"

"Yeah, 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones is far too much. That's enough to buy a Mid-Grade Dharma Artifact. The female cultivator is pretty, but it's hardly worth it just for a moment of pleasure."

The surrounding Demon Cultivators shook their heads and murmured among themselves, all agreeing that 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones was much too expensive. Some had already lost interest and were about to leave.

"Hmph! 100 Spirit Stones is already a low price. Buy her or don't."

Hearing their comments, the short stall owner didn't lower the price. He merely rolled his eyes and sneered disdainfully. "This girl is a disciple of Forget-Emotion Valley! Forget-Emotion Valley may only be a second-rate immortal sect, but all its female disciples cultivate the immortal art, the Autumn Water Forget-Emotion Scripture. This art only enhances the soul and spiritual power. If you take this female cultivator for dual cultivation, it'll greatly benefit both your soul and spiritual power. She'd make a perfect Cauldron! If I weren't short on Spirit Stones, I'd have enjoyed her myself long ago!"

A Cauldron was used in the art of drawing yin to replenish yang: the girl's vital essence and blood essence were drained to increase one's own spiritual power.

"What? A disciple of Forget-Emotion Valley? In that case, 100 Spirit Stones isn't such a bad deal..."

"A pity. To get the most out of a Cauldron, you need a profound dual-cultivation art..."

The Demon Cultivators in the crowd suddenly understood and began whispering among themselves. Some looked tempted, but still hesitated. After all, 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones was far too expensive for low-ranking disciples like them.

Chen Lin stood among the crowd and listened to the Demon Cultivators' discussion. He couldn't help shaking his head, his expression complicated. Though he was now a member of the Demon Race, he had been human in his previous life. Seeing this scene left him with a strange, indescribable feeling.

The Demon Race and humankind were natural enemies. Human cultivators captured demons to extract their souls and make pills, while Demon Cultivators naturally used human cultivators as Cauldrons and slaves.

Chen Lin's heart was a tangle of emotions. Though he felt sorry for the poor human girl, he turned around, intending to leave. He wasn't softhearted, especially in the complicated, survival-of-the-fittest world of the Myriad Demon Sect. His temperament had been ground down until it was cold and numb. Though the girl was pitiful, he had no connection to her. He certainly wasn't going to waste 100 Spirit Stones to buy her freedom.

"Ding!"

"System side quest issued: Rescue the female disciple of Forget-Emotion Sect. Penalty for failure: 800 points of Death Energy."

At the sound, Chen Lin's body, which had just turned away, stumbled and froze in place.

After a long while, Chen Lin took a deep breath, turned around with resolve, and walked up to the stall. He brushed a hand over his Storage Bag and took out 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. With a dark expression, he handed them to the stall owner. "100 Spirit Stones. I'm taking this girl."

"Uh?... All right, all right..."

A flicker of surprise crossed the short man's face. Clearly, he hadn't expected the deal to go through so quickly. But he reacted fast, hastily took the Spirit Stones, and gave Chen Lin a lecherous grin before turning to open the cage.

"Hold it. I want this female cultivator."

Suddenly, a jarring, hoarse voice rang out.

The crowd slowly parted as an ugly Demon Cultivator with a gaunt, hawk-like face strode over arrogantly. He wore a gorgeous red robe. Casually patting the Storage Bag at his waist, he took out 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones and tossed them straight to the short man. His lecherous gaze never left the girl in the cage as he slowly walked toward it, about to take her away.

He had completely ignored Chen Lin.

The short stall owner was clearly taken aback. He instinctively caught the Spirit Stones, then hesitated before returning them to Chen Lin. Clearly, the newcomer's cultivation was higher than Chen Lin's, and the stall owner didn't want to offend him.

"Hmph!"

Chen Lin's expression darkened. He moved in a flash and stood in front of the Demon Cultivator, his face impassive. "Even business has a first-come, first-served order. You'd better step aside. I've already bought this female cultivator."

"Hmm? You dare block my way?"

The red-robed Demon Cultivator narrowed his eyes at Chen Lin. "Very well. Which demon branch are you from?"

"Why should I tell you which demon branch I'm from? Just because you ask?" Chen Lin crossed his arms and stared at the man with a faint smile. At the same time, he secretly activated Advanced Perception and discovered that his opponent was actually at the formidable Late Xiantian Stage.

Under ordinary circumstances, Chen Lin would never have made an enemy for no reason over a human girl he didn't know. But he had a vague feeling that the Main God Coffin wouldn't issue a meaningless quest. Though the side quest didn't mention a reward, the return would surely outweigh the cost.

"Boy, do you know who you're offending? I'm the personal disciple of Demon Venerable Chilian of the Blood Hand Branch!"

The red-robed Demon Cultivator's expression darkened. He fixed Chen Lin with a sinister stare and threatened him.

"I don't care what branch you're from or whose personal disciple you are."

Chen Lin rolled his eyes and said lazily, "There are so many branch leaders and Demon Venerables among the Seventy-Two Branches of Myriad Demon. How come I don't remember any Demon Venerable Chilian? Maybe you're just waving someone else's banner to scare me. If you've got nothing more to say, I'll take this female cultivator and be on my way."

Though he said that, Chen Lin couldn't help smiling wryly to himself. He had no idea whether offending a Demon Venerable's personal disciple for a side quest with an unknown reward was a gain or a loss.

"Good. Very good! You're really something!"

The red-robed Demon Cultivator's face turned livid, his chest heaving as his aura steadily rose. It seemed that a single wrong word would make him attack. But in the end, his fingers twitched beneath his sleeves, and he managed to hold back. Instead, he turned away from Chen Lin and said to the short stall owner, "110 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I want this girl."

"111 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Sorry, but you can't take her."

Chen Lin leaned casually against the edge of the cage and yawned. "130 Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"131 Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"You little bastard!"

The red-robed Demon Cultivator glared at Chen Lin, murder plain in his eyes. He spoke in a menacing voice. "I've memorized your face. Don't let me see you outside the marketplace next time, or I'll make you regret ever being born!"

"Fine, I'll be waiting. But if you're not raising the price anymore, then get lost!"

Chen Lin waved his hand dismissively and ignored him.

The red-robed Demon Cultivator's chest continued to heave. His lips moved, as though he wanted to keep bidding, but in the end, he said nothing. Clearly, he no longer thought it worthwhile to spend a huge sum on a female cultivator at the early Xiantian stage. Still, he fixed Chen Lin with a venomous stare, as if to burn that hateful face into his memory, then stalked away with a dark expression.